AP Shah, who was earlier the chief justice of the Delhi High Court, was given the task on December 16 and asked to submit his report in three months.Sanjeev Choudhary | ET Bureau | March 17, 2016, 07:03 IST

Representative ImageNEWD ELHI: The former judge appointed by the oil ministry to look into ONGC’s allegation that Reliance Industries illegally pumped out the state firm’s gas from an adjoining field has sought more time to submit his report, officials said.

AP Shah, who was earlier the chief justice of the Delhi High Court, was given the task on December 16 and asked to submit his report in three months. Since the task hasn’t been completed yet, Shah has sought more time, an oil ministry official said, without elaborating the extent of time sought. The government is considering the request and will shortly decide on the extension, he added.

The government appointed the Shah panel, following a court order that mandated it to help resolve the dispute within six months of the submission of report on the issue by DeGolyer and Mac Naughton, a US-based consultant initially hired by ONGC and Reliance to technically examine the matter. This means the government has to take a view on the dispute by May this year.

The consultant submitted the report on November 30, following which the government decided to appoint the panel whose recommendations could form the basis of the government action.

The Shah Panel has been tasked to “quantify the unfair enrichment, if any”, to Reliance Industries, suggest measures to prevent unfair enrichment and recommend ways to compensate ONGC and the government. The panel had a troubled start with Reliance Industries questioning the government authority to appoint a panel and deciding to not cooperate with it. The company, however, changed its stand later and is now cooperating with the panel.

The panel has to also consider the acts of omission and commission, if any, on part of the stakeholders, including RIL, ONGC, Directorate General of Hydrocarbons and the government and give recommendations on them.

“To save the environment and to fight climate change, my government has planned a major campaign. By 2022, we want to generate 175 GW of renewable energy. In the last three years, we have already achieved 60 GW or around one-third of this target,” he said.